A GIS-based support tool for sustainable spatial planning in metropolitan areas

This paper describes a support tool that incorporates environmental aspects in local spatial planning processes. The tool aims to support the work of local authorities and urban planning offices, especially with regard to identifying options in the early phases of the planning process. The tool has been developed and implemented in a Geographical Information System (GIS) and evaluated for a case study in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The results show the importance of communicative aspects for these kinds of tools, especially for tools that aim to stimulate several disciplines in working together. The results also show that geo-information tools can easily become too complex, and turn out to be ‘black boxes’ for participants in the planning process. Therefore, it is important to keep these tools as simple as possible, and to make clear how the results of the planning process will benefit from their use.